Can’t keep it to myself: a look at Sierra’s upcoming titles

Ars Technica takes a look at Sierra's upcoming games across all the platforms …

Sierra Media Day: Prototypical?

Media days are always tricky things to navigate. When publishers invite the gaming press to come and check out their lineup of soon-to-be-released titles, there tends to be a mixed big of software to be seen, and the controlled nature of the environment makes it hard to get a critical look at the games. Still, they can be useful looks at what's coming in the future.

Sierra is one of those publishers whose track record has been more than a little spotty in recent years. Despite the fact that it has brought masterpieces like the Half-Life and Homeworld games to the mainstream, it was also responsible for 50 Cent: Bulletproof and Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude. One of those games was panned by critics, but sold very well; the other one was Leisure Suit Larry.

When Sierra announced its media day in San Francisco, I wasn't too sure what to expect. I knew I'd probably get to see some demos of The Bourne Conspiracy and Prototype, but I didn't know what else Sierra would be showing. When I arrived, I was stoked to learn that Ghostbusters would be on display, too. I honestly didn't know too much about the other games that were there, but I didn't really expect too much from the new 50 Cent and Spyro titles that Sierra had put on display. I certainly wasn't expecting to walk away from the event as pleasantly surprised as I did.

Let's break this down game by game, starting with...

Prototype

"Dude, where's my Torso?"

So what do you do when you wake up on an operating table, with no memories other than your name, but happen to possess a slew of powers that make you an unstoppable weapon? If you're Alex Mercer, the protagonist of Prototype, you go around New York and brutally slaughter hundreds of people. Of course, this New York has a plague—the likes of which have been unseen since Raccoon City's residents started liking human flesh—mutating its populace into monsters. Now, the US Military is rolling in the heavy artillery in order to keep a lid on things. Not only that, but the city of Manhattan itself has actually become infected (with unhealthy-looking tissue popping out of concrete and certain buildings becoming giant hives) while both mutants and the military are trying to kill our hero. Alex has to develop his powers in order to survive and figure out exactly what happened to him—the rest of the world's fate be damned.

Which powers Alex starts the game out with and which he earns later weren't detailed, but we saw a wide demonstration of them; most of these are based on his ability to shapeshift. At first glance, Alex looks like a normal street tough in jeans and a hoodie, but his power manifests itself as a smoky darkness tinged with red veins. In the first few minutes, we saw Alex stalk his enemies with different types of vision, grow blades on his arms, scythe through opponents with a whip-like extension, impale some monsters on spikes that grew out of the ground, convert his fists into giant mallets, and grow armor plating over his entire body. This was, of course, after we saw him throw a car over 50 feet, sprint up the sides of some skyscrapers, and glide through the air like a flying squirrel.

One of Alex's more devastating area attacks in action.

Alex's most intriguing power, though, is the ability to consume NPCs throughout the game: by absorbing someone, Alex gains their memories and skills, as well as the ability to "store" their form in his. Certain individuals will contain memories tied to Alex's past; they will be part of the "web of intrigue" which will provide a visual diagram the game world's history. Alex can only shapeshift between his default appearance and that of the person he last consumed; it's useful when running through the uninfected areas of New York in a disguise, as no one is wise to the player's real identity and the military will aid you if they see you being attacked by plague forces.

Prototype is one of those games that's going to horrify politicians because of the violence and gore it contains. Even when being stealthy, Alex's methods are… less than subtle. Most of the time, absorbing someone is a truly messy affair that involves some truly gruesome moves, and combat sequences leave oceans of blood and many body parts as mementos of the violence that just occurred.

The idea of a "breakable sand box" game world isn't anything new for Radical, who also designed The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. In fact, a number of Alex's abilities seem like they're straight out that game. This time, though, the destruction isn't as epic (as far as I could tell, only military bases and plague hives were capable of being destroyed), but there's still much chaos to be unleashed on the city, and players' moral decisions could possibly affect the fate of humanity.

Another of Alex's area attacks, which brings spikes up through the surrounding area.

During the demo, though, there were some definite problems: framerate issues, units double-spawning, and (in one case) a military base disappearing from where it was supposed to be. Now, some of this was probably due to the pre-alpha nature of the build, but seeing as how the game is slated for a Fall release, it seemed like things should be a little further along than they currently are. Hopefully, no additional features will be axed so that Radical can meet the game's launch date, as everything on display was very impressive.

All in all, I liked what I got to see of Prototype. It terms of gameplay, it looks like it can be as deep or as shallow as players want it to be, and the story promises to be a fun sci-fi thriller. I wouldn't be surprised if the game's release is delayed in order to work out some of its kinks, but the title could be amazing once it arrives in stores.